Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.4% Higher

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose 1.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $232.35 and last traded at $230.98. Approximately 11,787,462 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 61,459,406 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.76.

Apple Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.92, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $253,766,929,000 after acquiring an additional 18,067,216 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,912,466,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 60,651,275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,677,190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,360 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 54,702,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,531,834,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067,587 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Apple by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 52,981,808 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $11,160,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,785,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.